Our response to the Comprehensive Spending Review

Beth Bridewell

Yesterday's Comprehensive Spending Review contained a mixture of good and bad news for adults with learning disabilities or mental health needs.

While the £2 billion in extra funding for social care was a positive move, the fact that it is not ring-fenced means it is too soon to say whether already overstretched local authorities will be able to use it to offset the huge cuts they are facing overall. Similarly, there are serious concerns about whether the vast reductions in welfare may end up hitting people with disabilities disproportionately.

Still, it should be remembered that as significant as the Comprehensive Spending Review was, it was not the end of the matter. There is still a long road ahead, and local authorities will be wrestling with their budgets and where and how to make savings for many months to come.

That’s why those of us in the voluntary sector who provide public services must keep striving towards the best possible outcomes for the people who rely on our support. Many organisations and individuals will be deeply worried and unsure of the future today, but we need to work together with everyone – the individuals affected, their families, the Government and local authorities - to find the most creative and efficient ways of delivering support and care to those who most need it.

None of this will be easy but we must do all we can to make it work for the sake of the millions for whom such services are a lifeline.

The Government’s position on the interpretation of regulations around the National Living Wage is causing huge confusion. As a result the delivery of community based services, for people with learning disabilities, which are proven to work well, are under real threat.

The Government’s position on the interpretation of regulations around the National Living Wage is causing huge confusion. As a result the delivery of community based services, for people with learning disabilities, which are proven to work well, are under real threat.

Disability charity, United Response, hosted a working lunch event on Friday 16th June to celebrate the positive work that is being carried out in Greater Manchester to help unlock the employment potential of the 65,000 people with learning disabilities living in the area.

Learning Disability Voices, the leading coalition of not-for-profit, private and voluntary sector providers of learning disability care services, has today launched its 2017 Care Crisis Manifesto which can be read here.

Our Operations Director, Sarah Battershall, gave evidence today to the Public Accounts Committee on the Government’s transforming care agenda and whether the quality of care for people with learning disabilities is improving.

Become a support worker for United Response and help disabled people in their communities at home. You’ll help them cook, clean, pay bills, apply for jobs, make friends and a thousand things in between.

Easy News is the first news magazine designed to be accessible for people with learning disabilities, aimed to encourage discussion around news stories and keep readers informed about the world around them. Read the latest issue here.

We work with young people and adults with a wide range of learning disabilities across England and Wales. To plan the right kind of support, we work closely with each individual and the people who are important to them. In this way, they get the support they want, in the way they want.

ROC (Robert Owen Communities) has Wellbeing services in Devon and Cornwall, which we can support you to attend. ROC’s Wellbeing services offers you the opportunity to learn new and exciting skills and gain accredited learning qualifications at the same time.